


someone that I used to be

by potato_writes



Series: i'm standing right here on (jaime's) side [4]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Pre-Relationship, Quasi-Ocean's Eleven AU, jaime has returned to his rightful position of haunting the narrative, this part is very much an info dump but it explains things so it's necessary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:49:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27379747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potato_writes/pseuds/potato_writes
Summary: Baelor’s Prison is a squatting, grey building lurking on the outskirts of King’s Landing, a short drive away from the heart of the city. Surrounded by chain-link fence and a field of dead grass, it’s much less intimidating than its maximum-security neighbour, and Brienne has been here enough times to barely even take notice of the things that are supposed to make it threatening to her.*before the heist begins, Brienne has to assemble a team.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Series: i'm standing right here on (jaime's) side [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956802
Comments: 10
Kudos: 29





	someone that I used to be

**Author's Note:**

> so I've had this sitting completed in its doc for half of October but uni and general anxiety about the state of the world kept me from posting it until now, when everything else is stressful enough that posting this is actually a relief. there is no jb content in this, but there's a lot of key information as to everyone's motivation that will make ll the other parts make more sense, so I wouldn't recommend skipping it.
> 
> chronologically, this is the first instalment of the series. if I remembered the other parts better I'd have something more to say here, but I'm also very tired so this is all you get. sorry.
> 
> I can be found on Tumblr as [potatothecat](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/potatothecat). thank you for reading!!

Baelor’s Prison is a squatting, grey building lurking on the outskirts of King’s Landing, a short drive away from the heart of the city. Surrounded by chain-link fence and a field of dead grass, it’s much less intimidating than its maximum-security neighbour, and Brienne has been here enough times to barely even take notice of the things that are supposed to make it threatening to her.

Her old but trusty sedan pulls into the parking lot and she lets it idle as she watches the main entrance, her eyes narrowed against the bright mid-morning light. Normally, she’d never let her vehicle idle for this long, but she wants to be out of here quickly so she can have the conversation she desperately needs to have.

As she watches, Margaery glides out of the prison, looking as poised and put together as if she’d been on a spa retreat for the past two years. Her friend catches sight of her car immediately and hurries across the lot towards her, smiling brightly enough that Brienne can’t help but smile in return. “Brienne!” she cries as she pulls the passenger door open and hops inside. “It’s so good to see you outside!”

“I presume you’re happy to be out of there, then?” Brienne asks as she puts the car in drive and carefully pulls out of the parking lot. It’s an obvious question, but they can’t discuss what they really need to until they’re well away from the prison and whoever might be trying to listen in on them.

Margaery throws her hands into the air, her eyes shining in a way Brienne hasn’t seen for almost two years now. “Delighted, absolutely delighted! I never knew how much I could miss simple things like going outside by myself, or walking down the street, or being able to freely open a window. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life!”

Brienne smiles fondly at her companion’s joy, shining out of her and filling the car with light. Having been privy to all of the events that lead to Margaery being in Baelor’s in the first place, she’s immensely relieved to see her friend so happy after two years of misery and anger and humiliation. 

Her news won’t burst that bubble of delight, though she is curious to see how Margaery will react to it. She glances at the mirror and decides they’re far enough from the prison for it to be safe before taking an abrupt right turn down a side road that sends Margaery’s eyebrows shooting upwards.

“This is new. I thought you were taking me back to the city?”

“I am,” Brienne says as she parks outside of a nondescript cafe located in the middle of a small shopping centre, “but we need to talk first. I have news.”

“What kind of news?” They climb out of the car and head for the door, but Margaery pauses right outside before they can enter. “Good news, bad news, something in between?”

“Good news. I hope. There’s some bad news attached to it, but if everything works out it won’t remain that way for much longer.”

Margaery nods and steps forward, and they both enter the cafe. “Ooh, so there’s some intrigue involved? Nice. Sounds like a good way to work through the pent up frustration from Baelor’s.”

Rather than respond where they might be overheard, Brienne tilts her head to the side and lets Margaery order for them both, though she steps forward when it’s time to pay. “That’s what I’m hoping,” she says at last, once they’ve moved to the side and are waiting for their drinks to be ready. “But I have to tell you about it first. We’ll have to see what you think before we can go any further.”

Margaery nods again, and they both remain silent until they’re sitting at a table in the back corner of the cafe, drinks in hand and one eye on the rest of the room to ensure no one’s listening in on their conversation. Then, and only then, does Brienne turn to Margaery, drawing in a deep breath before speaking in a quiet rush of words.

“I might have a way to take down the Lannisters and get revenge for what they did to you.”

Her friend’s eyes widen, and she quickly raises a finger to her mouth as a warning to keep her from exclaiming loudly. “What do you mean?” Margaery hisses at her, suspicion lurking in her gaze. “You’re certain you have a way? Because no one’s been able to take down the Lannisters for years, not since they helped Robert Baratheon topple the Targaryen corporate empire.”

Brienne inclines her head and takes a long sip of her coffee before setting it aside and looking Marg straight in the eye. “I know. But I recently came in contact with a woman by the name of Shae Waters, a hacker and former prostitute who, until fairly recently, was employed by Tywin Lannister’s younger son so he could feel loved in order to cope with the fact that his father hates him. She was thrown out of the manor for…reasons she should probably tell you herself, and she’s been digging around ever since, looking for people to spill some of Tywin Lannister’s dirtiest little secrets to in order to punish him and his family for what they did to her.”

“Holy shit,” Margaery says slowly, leaning back in her seat and staring up at the ceiling. “Does this Shae Waters know how to get proof of that information, or she just speculating?”

“She knows how, she just needs a team to help her get it.” Brienne takes another sip while keeping an eye on a man walking fairly close to their table, but he leaves the cafe immediately after and she relaxes again. “Which is where we come in.”

Margaery cocks her head to the side, eyes glinting with mischievous pleasure. “When you say we, do you mean just the two of us or…”

Brienne grins broadly, raising her coffee mug in a half-toast that Margaery meets instantly. “Shae and I are working on assembling a team, and I was hoping you’d be willing to help us out.”

“Of course I will.” Margaery smiles, sharp and deadly, with an eagerness dancing in her eyes that hasn’t been there since before the courtroom and the allegations Cersei Lannister spat at her, before Tywin Lannister gathered his lawyers and his wealth to ensure she’d face punishment for a crime she didn’t commit. “This is what I’ve been waiting two years for, after all.”

***

They meet Shae Waters at an old warehouse on the wrong side of King’s Landing, one Brienne bought years ago and reworked into a fairly decent home for whenever she ends up in the capital. All the empty space used to bother her, used to remind her of those she left behind on Tarth, both the living and the dead. But having Shae around has made things just a little bit brighter, and if all goes well then Shae won’t be the only new arrival in the warehouse soon enough.

Introducing Margaery and Shae is fascinating to Brienne, as she watches two beautiful women who had their confidence destroyed by the Lannisters size each other up, smiling sharply as they sit on either side of the long wooden table while Brienne keeps one eye on them and one eye on the pasta cooking on the stove. Neither woman speaks for a long moment, until Margaery leans back and tilts her head to the side ever so slightly.

“So,” she says in a deadly way that has Brienne tensing and turning towards them, “what exactly did the Lannisters do to you to make you hate them enough to take them down? How do we know you’re not working for them right now? Brienne said you used to.”

Shae arcs an eyebrow and matches Margaery’s dangerous tone with one of her own. “Oh, I never actually worked for the _Lannisters_. I just worked for Tyrion. There’s a difference, and I sure as hell don’t work for him anymore, not after what he did to me.”

She doesn’t elaborate, and Margaery doesn’t push, just tilts her chair back and looks to Brienne, still standing tense and uncertain by the stove. “She’ll do,” her friend says, and that’s enough to significantly ease the tension in the room. 

“What about you?” Shae asks, seeming more curious than anything as she looks at Margaery. “What did the Lannisters do to you? Brienne mentioned you were in prison before this, but I thought it was because of something you actually did.”

“Cersei Lannister had me framed for a crime I didn’t commit in order to humiliate me and ruin my family,” Margaery says, her voice ice-cold as she recalls the events that lead to her imprisonment, “and good ol’ Tywin Lannister decided that he’d rather help his daughter frame me than deal with the fact that she was a criminal in need of controlling.”

Shae nods, sitting back, before swivelling an all-too-sharp gaze towards Brienne, stirring the pasta and determinedly not looking at either of them. “And you, Brienne? You never told me why you want to take down the Lannisters. And I don’t think you’re the sort to do things needlessly.”

Unfortunately, Shae’s right, and now Margaery’s looking at her too, and there’s no way she’ll be able to evade their questions now that they’ve relaxed a little. She sighs and turns down the temperature on the stove before meeting their gazes with a firm expression.

“Tywin Lannister wants to buy the protected land on Tarth and develop it,” she tells them both, quiet yet churning as fierce and angry as the boiling water on the stove beside her. “I refuse to sit by and let him do that. We’ve worked too hard to keep that land safe to just hand it over to the Lannister corporate empire and let them destroy all that nature. My father’s trying to fight this legally, but I was there for Marg’s trial. I know there’s no way we can win against the legal machine that Tyrion’s set up. So if I have to do things a little bit shadily in order to protect my island, I will.”

Margaery whistles, long and low, while Shae blinks briefly before nodding. They exchange a quick look as Brienne returns her attention to the stove, but she’s relaxed too soon.

“You said you’re going to assemble a team,” Margaery says abruptly, tapping one finger against a knot in the wood as she speaks. “Shae’s a hacker, you’re muscle, and I’m an infiltrator, but who else can you get? The three of us alone aren’t going to be able to pull this one off.”

Brienne nods, deems the pasta suitably cooked, and turns the burner off entirely before responding to Margaery. “No, we can’t. Which is why I have a list of contacts I’ve been reaching out to, and tomorrow the three of us are going to meet with each one of them in the hopes that they’ll be willing to join us in our quest to take down the high and mighty Tywin Lannister, and hopefully bring his children down with him.”

Margaery’s nodding eagerly, but Shae hesitates, something Brienne can’t quite interpret crossing her face. “Tyrion and Cersei yes, they’re absolutely in on his shady deals, and I have no qualms with seeing them face punishment for what they’ve done. But the elder son, Jaime…he has no part in the illegal side of things. Is it possible to maybe leave him out of all this, or give him the easiest time out of the rest of the family?”

“You expect me to believe Jaime Lannister has no part in his father’s dealings with the seven hells?” Margaery demands, looking incredulous. “The man was instrumental in taking down Aerys Targaryen and getting his father into power in the first place! There’s no way he doesn’t know what his father’s doing on the side.”

Brienne wants to agree with Margaery, but she’s also just old enough to remember what Aerys Targaryen was like. However bad Tywin Lannister is—and there’s no denying that he’s terrible indeed—Aerys was worse. _Far_ worse. Whatever other evil Jaime Lannister has or hasn’t done, taking down Aerys wasn’t one of them, no matter who or what he did it for.

Shae nods, but she’s frowning. “He didn’t take down Aerys for his father’s sake. He never said the real reason why, but it definitely wasn’t for his father. I know you don’t believe me as of yet, but trust me. He’s not nearly as bad as the rest of them are.”

Margaery snorts, but then Brienne places a steaming plate of pasta in front of her and she’s immediately distracted. “We’ll see, I guess,” she mutters, already digging in. “We’ll see.”

***

Asha Greyjoy surveys the three of them over the rough wooden surface of a bar, her keen gaze boring into each one of them in turn as they wait for her response to their question. “Take down Tywin Lannister,” she says at last, slowly and carefully running a towel over a perfectly clean wine glass. “What’s in it for me if I say yes?”

“Vengeance,” Margaery says, balling up the napkin in her hand and tossing it down on the bartop with a flourish. “He took over your family’s company when your uncles began squabbling over it after your father died, right?”

Brienne shakes her head at Marg’s words as Asha stiffens, her eyes narrowing. “How do you know about that?”

Before Margaery can dig in further and alienate Asha, Shae pipes up. “I used to work for the Lannisters, and I ended up with quite a few of their dirty little secrets before I left. Including the Greyjoy deal, and how illegal it was—especially since you were your father’s preferred heir, rather than the uncle that the Lannisters gave it to. Which one was that again? They all start to look alike after a while.”

“Euron,” Asha replies slowly, her posture easing ever so slightly. “The worst of the lot, really. At least my uncle Victarion could be manipulated into doing as I told him. Uncle Euron only works for the highest bidder, and Tywin Lannister has the deepest pockets in both Westeros _and_ Essos.”

“We can help you get the company back into the hands of its rightful owner—you,” Brienne says quietly, leaning forward to look earnestly at Asha. “I won’t lie to you and promise a cash reward or some other benefit, because there isn’t one. But in the long run, that prize might be more valuable to you, and it’s high time someone broke up the Lannister monopoly anyways.”

She continues to meet Asha’s gaze levelly, ignoring Margaery and Shae as they both shoot her concerned looks. Asha Greyjoy is one of the best munitions experts currently lurking around King’s Landing, but she’s also not the sort of person to succumb easily to empty flattery or Margaery’s flirtatious negotiation. Honestly may just be the best route here, and from Asha’s response it seems she made the right call.

“Why the hell not,” the bartender says at last, setting the glass aside and throwing the towel over her shoulder. “Not like I’ve got anything to lose should this backfire.”

“Great!” Shae exclaims, clapping her hands together. “That’s four down.”

Asha smiles, and unlike her first greeting when they approached her, it meets her eyes. “A word of advice? In the future, let the tall one do the talking. Her honesty suits a matter like this much better than fancy words and attempts at diplomacy.”

“Noted,” Margaery responds, shooting Brienne a mock-offended look. “I’ll save that for the operation itself.”

“Good,” Asha says with a grin, and they all laugh before Shae turns to look at Brienne again.

“I never asked, how many do we need? I know we need surveillance at least, and probably an acrobat as well, but the total number for these things is so unclear.”

“Eleven,” Brienne says after a long moment. “We’re going with eleven.” She pauses and glances at all three of her companions in turn, letting them see the seriousness in her gaze. “And I know exactly where to find the next two members of this team.”

***

The Stark sisters, Sansa and Arya, could not look more different yet alike at the same time as they study Brienne and Shae with matching unimpressed stares. After what’s befallen their family, neither of them are eager to take on Tywin Lannister a _third_ time, and Brienne can hardly blame them for it. They’ve suffered so much at his hands, after all.

“If,” Arya says at last, raising one finger in the air, “ _if_ we agree to do this…what’s the benefit of it? It won’t bring back our parents or Robb, it won’t fix Bran’s legs or pay off his medical bills. Revenge is all fine and well, but going for that alone got our mother and brother killed, and we don’t want to repeat those mistakes. We have brothers relying on us still.”

Shae sends Brienne a meaningful look, tilting her head towards the sisters. After Margaery nearly blew it with Asha, they’re trying to be extremely careful in these negotiations, just in case there’s another land mine they could stumble on without warning. Of course, that means Brienne is doing most of the talking, a prospect she doesn’t relish at the best of times. Being stared down by two young women whose help she desperately needs isn’t the worst of situations, but it’s certainly not the best either.

“No, it won’t,” she admits, “but if the Lannister empire falls apart there’ll be plenty of space for new businesses or people reclaiming old ones. Your family’s company doesn’t have to die with your parents. Doing this might allow you to reclaim it, this time without the threat of the Lannisters taking it from you should you become too successful.”

Sansa nods slowly, exchanging a look with her sister before turning back to Brienne. “And you say that Shae here knows exactly what she’s looking for?”

“I do,” Shae responds, her eyes glittering with eagerness. “I could even tell you a few choice details, if you think you’re up to hearing them.”

Brienne arcs an eyebrow at the hacker’s words, but doesn’t interrupt as the sisters share another long glance. So far, Shae’s been very reticent regarding the information she gleaned from the Lannisters before everything went down with Tyrion. It’s interesting that she’s willing to share part of it with the Stark sisters.

Arya seems to have been designated to ask the hard question, because she’s the one who looks over first, breathing in deeply as she does. “What happened to our parents and brother?” she asks, reaching over to grip her sister’s hand tightly. “Were they murdered or…”

“The first one,” Shae says quietly, placing her own hand on top of those of the sisters. “I’m sorry. Your family didn’t deserve that, especially not after they’d already taken your company from you. And resorting to murder…well, anyone doing that to keep their business intact clearly has something big to hide. It’s terrible that your family ended up getting hurt because of it.”

The sisters both nod, and Sansa draws in a deep breath before sitting up straight. “Alright,” she tells Brienne. “We’ll do it. On one condition.”

Thank the gods. Arya was the only person Brienne had on her list to fill the acrobat position. She can’t guarantee that she’ll be able to meet their condition, but knowing they’re willing to negotiate is much better than she’d initially thought going into this meeting. The sisters have been notoriously difficult to connect with since the deaths of Catelyn and Robb Stark.

“Name it,” she says as Shae sits back and releases their hands. “I won’t make any guarantees about my ability to meet it, but I can do my best.”

“We have two friends also looking for revenge against the Lannisters,” Arya says, folding her arms across her chest. “Jeyne Westerling, Robb’s widow, and Jeyne Poole, Sansa’s friend who the Lannisters sold to the Boltons as part of their business deal. If we’re going to do this, they have to be part of it too.”

Brienne nods, her shoulders slumping with relief. Her list isn’t complete by a long shot, and filling two more positions on it this easily will make it much easier when she deals with the three remaining names on the list. “Alright. I can deal with that. Sure makes my life easier not having to find and recruit two more people.”

“Good,” Sansa says vehemently, extending her hand to Brienne. They shake hands quickly before Arya reaches out and does the same. “But if this backfires, don’t expect us to stick around. Our brothers still need us, and unless our great-uncle shows up again there’s really nowhere else for them to go.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Brienne tells them as they turn to Shae and shake hands with her as well. “Welcome to the team, all four of you.”

She and Shae walk out of the apartment side by side, both remaining silent until they’re out on the street, heading back towards the warehouse that’s quickly becoming their base of operations. Then Shae shakes her head, glancing back at the apartment with a look of bafflement on her face.

“Two Jeynes? How on earth are we going to deal with having two Jeynes on the team?”

***

Arianne Martell is the sort of woman that Brienne used to envy, back before the fight to protect her island became the most important thing in her life. Beautiful, clever, witty, the negotiator on Brienne’s list studies her and Margaery with the same assessing gaze that Brienne’s old friend can level on her opponents when the need arises. It’s an even more intimidating meeting than when she introduced Margaery and Shae, but for once there isn’t much of a need for her to interfere.

“If you’re going to take down the Lannisters, then I’m all in,” Arianne says after a minute or two has passed, her expression turning grim and determined. “Payment doesn’t matter to me, not after what Tywin tried to do to my aunt Elia. My family’s well-off enough to not need money anyways.”“So you’re with us, then?” Margaery asks, sending a quick grin to Brienne as she does. Arianne’s been the easiest person to convince so far, which may not bode well for the last two names on the list but does take a major load off in certain _other_ regards. 

“Absolutely,” Arianne tells them both, smiling coldly enough that Brienne feels a brief stab of pity for the Lannisters—until she remembers why they’re doing this. The Martells have been hell-bent on vengeance ever since Tywin tried to have Elia Martell killed so he could marry his own daughter to Rhaegar Targaryen, and very few people have forgotten that grudge despite his best efforts to conceal it. 

Margaery turns to Brienne and sends her a meaningful look, and she quickly jolts out of her thoughts to reach over and shake Arianne’s hand. “I’m glad to hear you’re joining us. Just two more names, and then we’ll assemble the entire team together.”

Arianne nods, her smile relaxing and turning natural now that they’ve moved away from the subject of the Lannisters. “You need any more names, or do you already have ideas?”

“I’ve got a list, and I know who I want on the team. It’s more a question of are they willing to join up with us or not, and there’s one name in particular I’m worried will refuse.”

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Arianne tells her while Margaery nods in agreement. “Very few people don’t want to see the Lannisters be taken down a peg or two, and most of those who feel that way would be content with seeing the eldest son take over the company while the rest of the family gets booted.”

Brienne groans and rolls her eyes as she recalls an early conversation with Shae where the exact same topic had come up. The topic had been equally frustrating then as it was now, and from the smirk Margaery is currently failing to disguise, her distaste for it is all too obvious. “You know, I thought we were past the days when a pretty face was enough to make people forgive virtually any crime. I don’t blame him for the whole Aerys Targaryen thing, but he’s still been working for his father for years. Doesn’t exactly scream decent person to me.”

“You’d be surprised,” Arianne replies, a strange look crossing her face before she rises to her feet and straightens her coat over her shoulders. “He’s not what everyone expects him to be. And it’s nearly impossible for Tywin’s inner circle to leave unless he throws them out. I don’t think he’s all that bad—although I will admit that it’s been several years since I last spoke to him, so he could have changed.”

“It doesn’t matter, anyways,” Brienne says quietly as Arianne prepares to leave. “We’re not pulling this against him specifically, though he’ll definitely get caught in the crossfire of it no matter what happens. I doubt he’ll even be relevant to what happens with the heist.”

***

Brienne has heard rumours about Ygritte Wilde, has heard how she’s notoriously difficult to work with and has standards so impossibly high very few jobs are able to meet them. But she’s fortunate enough to bring Sansa along to this meeting, and it turns out the two have met before, back when Ygritte dated Sansa’s cousin Jon before duty called her north of the Wall again. Their enthusiasm at meeting again is more than enough to ease the awkwardness of the subsequent conversation regarding the job at hand, once the talk finally strays from idle gossip about mutual friends and what’s happened since they last saw each other.

“I wouldn’t mind the chance to give Tywin Lannister what he deserves,” Ygritte says eventually, after debating the pros and cons of joining the operation with Sansa for a while. “I make enough on my other jobs that lack of reward isn’t an issue for me, and I can think of plenty of reasons to sabotage him even beyond my personal issues with the corporation.”

Brienne nods thoughtfully before speaking up for one of the first times in this meeting. “So are you in, or are you out?”

“In,” Ygritte says without missing a beat, and Brienne barely holds back a sigh of relief. Ygritte’s the best surveillance hacker in King’s Landing, maybe in all of Westeros, and even the best cybersecurity Lannister money can buy won’t be able to keep her out of their systems once she gets going. She’s definitely the sort of person Brienne would much rather have as her friend than her enemy.

“Great!” Sansa says cheerily, looking more enthusiastic than Brienne has ever seen her so far. “I’m glad you’ll be joining us, even though it’d be weird if Jon ever found out about all this. Not that Arya or I plan on telling him, but still.”

Ygritte waves a hand casually, as if the topic doesn’t matter that much to her anymore. “Oh, don’t worry about awkwardness. We broke up amicably, and I really have no reason to be bitter about his moving on, not when it’s been almost three years now. The fact that he was understanding of my needing to go back home and contest the development stuff says a great deal about how few hard feelings should be between us.”

“That’s a relief,” Sansa exclaims, reaching out to pat Ygritte on the shoulder. “He handled it pretty well, actually, better than he handled his feelings for Satin when they started dating.”

Brienne smiles and settles deeper into her chair as the other two women continue talking, glad to see old friends reunite and even more grateful to know that there’s only one spot left to fill, even if she fears the last name on her list may be the hardest one to convince of them all.

***

She’s alone for once when she goes to meet with Joy Hill, having weighed the benefits of having another person with her and decided the odds are more favourable if she doesn’t bring any backup. Approaching a Lannister, even a less significant one who doesn’t share the last name, is risky enough. There’s no reason for her to endanger another member of the team, not when approaching Joy was her idea.

Her decision confirms itself to be the correct one when Joy sends her an aghast look after she proposes the mission, speaking more carefully than she had to with any of the others. “You want me to move against my own family?” she asks, her eyes horrified, although she doesn’t immediately reach for her phone like Brienne feared she would. “No matter what horrible things they’ve done, they’re still my family. How can I just go against them like this?”

Brienne nods, having thought this through beforehand after several long conversations with Margaery, Shae, and Arianne. “The only people who will be impacted by this will be your uncle and your cousins, maybe your uncle Kevan as well if he’s really as key a part of this as I suspect he is. The rest of your family won’t be affected, besides an abrupt change in the lifestyle they’re accustomed to. My team isn’t opposed to letting the company stay in your family’s hands, either, as long as those hands are chosen wisely.”

Joy’s still frowning, and a bolt of fear shoots through Brienne at the sight. _What more can I promise her?_ She’s already made so many concessions to the Lannisters as it is. To give them even more, all for the sake of one name on her list…

“Am I allowed to choose who I want to inherit the company after you get my uncle out?” Joy asks abruptly. “Most of the extended family isn’t too bad, but there’s quite a few who should never be given any sort of power lest they completely destroy everything they’ve been put in charge of.”

It’s a good thing she’d discussed this beforehand, because she actually has an answer to that question. “If you have someone in mind, then yes, absolutely. I know we’re asking so much of you already, and you know your family better than any of us do. It’s only fair that we leave the decision in your hands.”

“Alright, then,” Joy says, before leaning forward and locking her eyes on Brienne’s. “I’ll join you, but only if you leave Jaime out of it and let him inherit the company.”

If she’d approached Joy earlier in this process, she’d have refused immediately. But Joy’s the third person now to suggest Jaime Lannister wouldn’t be a half-bad person to leave in charge of the remains of Tywin Lannister’s legacy, and it’s much harder to doubt three of her teammates rather than one. Shae, Arianne, and Joy all agreeing on the subject can’t possibly be a coincidence, or at least not very much of one.

“Can I ask why him? I’m not saying no right away, but I am curious as to why you think he’s the best option.”

“He’s the only decent one of that branch of the family tree,” Joy replies instantly. “Despite what everyone thinks, he didn’t take down Aerys for the family’s sake, and he only works for Uncle Tywin still because my uncle will—and actually has—bribed other companies to _not_ hire him, all so he can keep Jaime where he wants him. When I got thrown out of Casterly after my dad died, he was the only one of my cousins to argue on my behalf, and, well, if you’re here, you probably have met Shae and already know her story. He’s not perfect, not by a long shot, but he’s the only Lannister I’d trust with the company besides maybe Aunt Genna, and I know for a fact she wants nothing to do with any of it.”

She’ll have to discuss this with the others, but there’s no reason to say no, even though the misgivings still lurk in the back of her mind. “I think I can manage that. If the rest of the team refuses, then we’ll have to talk further, but I’ve already heard similar things from two others so I doubt they will.”

Joy smiles, the tension bleeding out of the room as she does. “Then we have a deal.”

“Welcome to the team, Joy,” Brienne tells her as they shake hands and rise to their feet. “We have everyone we need now, which means it’s time to begin the hard work of taking down the biggest corporate empire this side of the Narrow Sea.”


End file.
